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Food Security

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Food Security

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Global Challenges

Food Security

Food security is the state of having reliable access to sufficient, affordable, healthy food for all people, encompassing its availability, access, utilisation, and stability. It is a discipline that examines how societies ensure everyone has consistent access to nutritious food, even amidst disruptions from droughts, wars, or economic instability. Beyond mere hunger, food security is critical for public health, social cohesion, and economic development, directly impacting poverty reduction and childhood development. The field thus intersects with agriculture, public policy, international relations, and human rights.

Sources: An Introduction to the Basic Concepts of Food Security · Food security: concepts and measurement · Handbook for Defining and Setting up a Food Security Information and Early Warning System · The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2025 · Acute food insecurity and malnutrition rose for sixth consecutive year in world’s most fragile regions

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Sources & further reading

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Careers in Food Security

Illustrative areas of work and useful skills, not job listings or forecasts. Emerging describes developing work themes, not guaranteed new occupations.

Roles today

  • Food-security analyst

    Assess food access and emerging pressures using multiple forms of evidence.

    Skills to build

    • Statistics
    • Market analysis
    • Field research

  • Public-health nutrition researcher

    Study how diet and its social conditions affect population health.

    Skills to build

    • Epidemiology
    • Nutrition
    • Programme evaluation

  • Food-assistance programme officer

    Plan support around household needs, access and delivery constraints.

    Skills to build

    • Programme management
    • Community engagement
    • Monitoring

  • Agrifood policy analyst

    Compare policies affecting production, trade, affordability and diets.

    Skills to build

    • Economics
    • Policy analysis
    • Evidence synthesis

Emerging roles

  • Food-system resilience analyst

    Examine how shocks spread through livelihoods, markets and supply chains.

    Skills to build

    • Systems thinking
    • Scenario analysis
    • Data interpretation

  • Anticipatory food-assistance analyst

    Connect early-warning evidence with timely and accountable support.

    Skills to build

    • Risk analysis
    • Programme design
    • Evaluation

  • Healthy-diet affordability researcher

    Study the relationship between food prices, incomes and access to diverse diets.

    Skills to build

    • Economics
    • Nutrition literacy
    • Statistics

Where subjects meet

  • Nutrition ↗

    Nutrition programme evaluator

    Connect food access with health and care rather than counting calories alone.

    Skills to build

    • Nutrition
    • Public health
    • Research design

  • Economic Development ↗

    Development economist

    Examine incomes, entitlements and institutions behind persistent hunger.

    Skills to build

    • Econometrics
    • Policy analysis
    • Causal reasoning

  • Food And Agriculture Systems ↗

    Food-systems researcher

    Connect production and ecological constraints with household access.

    Skills to build

    • Agriculture literacy
    • Systems analysis
    • Social research

Find your direction

Compare the choices that shape this path. There is no score or single right answer.

  1. Which gap in a food-security case interests you?

    A supply or market disruption
    Explore agrifood systems, trade and economics.
    A household cannot afford a healthy diet
    Explore incomes, access and public policy.

    Production and access interact, but they require different evidence.

  2. Which outcome would you want to measure?

    Diet and health
    Explore nutrition, public health and evaluation.
    Reliability of access
    Explore livelihoods, prices and early warning.

    Choose indicators that match the outcome instead of using one number for everything.

  3. Where would you like to work?

    Research and policy
    Practise explaining evidence and alternatives.
    Programme design and delivery
    Practise listening, logistics and monitoring.

    Both routes need contextual understanding and accountability.

Where to study Food Security

Institutions and programmes to explore. Check each institution’s current programme and entry requirements before applying.

  • University of Edinburgh

    United Kingdom

    Food Security MSc

    Study the multiple dimensions of food security; this is distinct from a food-hygiene qualification.

  • London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

    United Kingdom

    MSc Nutrition for Global Public Health

    Explore population nutrition through biological, social and policy evidence.

  • Wageningen University & Research

    Netherlands

    Master International Development Studies

    Study social and political dimensions of development, including food insecurity.

Watch

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Voices to follow

  • Amartya Sen ↗Explained why famine analysis must examine people’s entitlements and access, not only aggregate supply.Economist and philosopher
  • Norman Borlaug ↗Contributed to crop research associated with the Green Revolution; his 1970 Nobel lecture discusses agriculture and hunger.Agricultural scientist
  • Máximo Torero ↗Studies markets, shocks and access to healthy diets and contributes to food-security analysis.FAO economist

Glossary

  • AvailabilityWhether food is present through production, stocks, imports or assistance.
  • AccessWhether people can obtain the food they need, including through income and physical access.
  • UtilisationHow diets, care, preparation, water and health affect the use of food.
  • StabilityWhether the other dimensions can be maintained over time.
  • UndernourishmentHabitual dietary energy consumption below requirements, as assessed by a population indicator.
  • Acute food insecurityA food-access crisis of a severity requiring urgent action, assessed for a specified period and population.
  • MalnutritionPoor nutritional status from deficiencies, excesses or imbalances; broader than hunger alone.
  • EntitlementThe food a person can command through production, exchange, transfers or other recognised means.
  • AgencyPeople’s ability to shape decisions affecting their food and livelihoods.
  • Healthy-diet affordabilityWhether available resources can cover the cost of an adequate healthy diet.

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Where this connects to other fields, and why it's worth knowing.

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